Isabella Hammad Explained

Birth Place:Hammersmith, London, England
Years Active:2019–present
Notable Works:The Parisian (2019);
Enter Ghost (2023)

Isabella Mariam S. Hammad is a British-Palestinian author.[1] In 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.

Biography

Hammad grew up in Acton, West London.[2] [3] [4] Her Palestinian father, whose family were from Nablus, had previously lived in Lebanon.[5] Hammad studied English at the University of Oxford.[6] After undertaking a literature fellowship at Harvard University, she went on to complete a creative writing MFA at New York University.[7] Hammad splits her time between London, Paris, and New York.[8] [9]

Awards and honours

In 2019, Hammad was a National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honoree.[10] [11] The same year, The New York Times named her debut novel, The Parisian, one of the Notable Books of the year,[12] and The Guardian included Hammad on their list of the year's "writers of exceptional first novels".[7]

The Guardian described her second book, Enter Ghost, as being "a story of Palestine, driven by questions of identity and belonging."[13] It was shortlisted for the 2024 Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the "difficult second novel" that follows an author's literary debut,[14] going on to be chosen as the winner.[15]

In 2020, Hammad received a Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship, and in 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.[16] [17]

She has also received a Gerald Freund Fellowship from MacDowell and an Axinn Foundation Fellowship from New York University. She was a speaker at the Palestine Writes Literature Festival[18] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 22 September 2023. She delivered the Edward Said Memorial Lecture, entitled "Recognizing the Stranger", at Columbia University at the end of September 2023.[19]

She was elected a 2024–2025 Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.[20]

Awards for Hammad's writing!Year!Title!Award!Result!Ref.
2018Plimpton Prize for Fiction
2019O. Henry Prize for Short Story
Palestine Book Award[21]
2020Betty Trask Award
Chautauqua Prize[22]
[23]
Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction[24]
2024Enter GhostAspen Words Literary Prize[25]

Books

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Khatib . Joumana . 2019-04-04 . A Debut Novelist Explores Her Family’s History, and Palestine’s . en-US . . 2023-04-15 . 0362-4331 . 19 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519173040/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/books/isabella-hammad-the-parisian.html . live .
  2. Web site: Isabella Hammad - 'I think it's best to take the hype with a pinch of salt'. The Bookseller. Tom. Tivnan. 1 February 2019. 15 February 2024. 15 February 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240215100217/https://www.thebookseller.com/author-interviews/interview-isabella-hammad-i-think-it-s-best-take-hype-pinch-salt-954136. live.
  3. Web site: Isabella Hammad . 2023-04-15 . . en-US . 31 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131004608/https://www.nationalbook.org/people/isabella-hammad/ . live .
  4. Web site: "The Parisian" Weaves Family Stories and Palestinian History Into a Debut Novel. Electric Lit. Nathalie. Handel. 7 May 2019. 15 February 2024. 14 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231214074518/https://electricliterature.com/the-parisian-weaves-family-stories-and-palestinian-history-into-a-debut-novel/. live.
  5. Web site: Writer Isabella Hammad: 'It's hard to know where we're going, but it doesn't look good'. Financial Times. James. Shotter. 19 January 2024. 15 February 2024. 15 February 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240215100215/https://www.ft.com/content/51236f45-44a4-44d4-8332-78405d3bdf46. live.
  6. Web site: "The Parisian" Weaves Family Stories and Palestinian History Into a Debut Novel. Electric Lit. Nathalie. Handel. 7 May 2019. 15 February 2024. 14 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231214074518/https://electricliterature.com/the-parisian-weaves-family-stories-and-palestinian-history-into-a-debut-novel/. live.
  7. News: 2019-01-13 . Meet the hottest-tipped debut novelists of 2019 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519173815/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/13/debut-novelists-of-2019-interviews-bev-thomas . 19 May 2021 . 2023-04-15 . . en-GB . 0029-7712.
  8. Web site: 'My relationship with Palestine is complex, intellectual and emotional'. Hyphen. Saman. Javed. 3 May 2023. 5 April 2024. 5 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240405065035/https://hyphenonline.com/2023/05/03/isabella-hammad-my-relationship-with-palestine-is-complex/. live.
  9. Web site: Isabella Hammad . 2023-04-15 . Literary Arts . . en . 15 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230415043159/https://literaryarts.brown.edu/writers-online/isabella-hammad . live .
  10. Web site: Andrews . Meredith . 2019-11-11 . Jeremy O. Harris to Host 2019 5 Under 35 Celebration . 2023-04-15 . . en-US . 7 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221007052843/https://www.nationalbook.org/jeremy-o-harris-to-host-2019-5-under-35-celebration/ . live .
  11. Web site: 2019-09-24 . National Book Foundation: '5 Under 35' . 2023-04-15 . . 27 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220927120628/https://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3585 . live .
  12. Web site: Isabella Hammad . 2023-04-12 . Lannan Foundation . en . 12 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230412080717/https://lannan.org/bios/isabella-hammad . live .
  13. News: Jones . Sadie . 2023-03-29 . Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – Hamlet in Palestine . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-09-28 . 0261-3077 . 12 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230412080812/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/29/enter-ghost-by-isabella-hammad-review-hamlet-in-palestine . live .
  14. Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award. The Bookseller. Melina. Spanoudi. 30 May 2024. 19 June 2024.
  15. Isabella Hammad wins boosted RSL Encore Award, now worth £15k. The Bookseller. 19 June 2024. Heloise. Wood. 20 June 2024.
  16. Web site: Razzall . Katie . 2023-04-13 . Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list . 2023-04-13 . . 14 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230414065523/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65256575 . live .
  17. Web site: 2023-04-14 . Granta Names 'Best of Young British Novelists' . 2023-04-15 . . 14 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230414181459/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4459 . live .
  18. Web site: Palestine Writes – فلسطين تكتب . 2023-09-28 . en-US . 29 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230929151403/https://palestinewrites.org/ . live .
  19. Web site: Recognizing the Stranger. Isabella. Hammad. The Paris Review. 27 October 2023. 18 June 2024.
  20. Web site: Allen . Brittany . Please welcome the 2024-25 class of Cullman fellows. . Literary Hub. 23 April 2024 . 24 April 2024 . 23 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423140806/https://lithub.com/please-welcome-the-2024-25-class-of-cullman-fellows/ . live .
  21. Web site: Isabella Hammad . 2021-06-22 . Brown University, Literary Arts Program . 7 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220807185258/https://www.brown.edu/academics/literary-arts/events/isabella-hammad . live .
  22. Web site: Steves . Jordan . 2020-05-08 . Seven Finalists Named for 2020 Chautauqua Prize . 2023-04-15 . . en-US . 25 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220925053200/https://www.chq.org/announcements/seven-finalists-named-for-2020-chautauqua-prize/ . live .
  23. Web site: American Academy of Arts & Letters Selects Valeria Luiselli & Isabella Hammad as the 2020 Literature Award Winners . 2023-04-15 . RCW Literary Agency . en . 31 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131174825/https://www.rcwlitagency.com/news/american-academy-of-arts-letters-selects-valeria-luiselli-isabella-hammad-as-the-2020-literature-award-winners/ . live .
  24. Web site: 2020-04-01 . Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist . 2023-04-15 . . 27 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221027002057/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3708 . live .
  25. Web site: Schaub . Michael . 2024-04-26 . Winnner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240426175829/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/winnner-of-the-aspen-words-literary-prize-revealed/ . 2024-04-26 . 2024-04-28 . . en.
  26. News: Benfey . Christopher . 2019-04-12 . A Novel Whose Hero Is a Man Divided, as Is His Native Palestine . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-06-23 . 0362-4331 . 19 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519173040/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/books/review/isabella-hammad-parisian.html . live .
  27. News: Thomas-Corr . Johanna . 2019-04-15 . The Parisian by Isabella Hammad review – Middlemarch with minarets . en-GB . The Observer . 2023-06-23 . 0029-7712 . 15 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230415041327/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/15/the-parisian-isabella-hammad-review . live .
  28. News: Khatib . Joumana . 2019-04-04 . A Debut Novelist Explores Her Family’s History, and Palestine’s . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-06-23 . 0362-4331 . 19 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210519173040/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/books/isabella-hammad-the-parisian.html . live .
  29. Web site: The Parisian by Isabella Hammad . Jehanne. Moharram. Winter 2020. 2023-06-23 . World Literature Today . en . 23 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230623183715/https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2020/winter/parisian-isabella-hammad . live .
  30. News: Williams . Holly . 2023-03-28 . Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – drama in the West Bank . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-23 . 0261-3077 . 23 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230623183106/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/28/enter-ghost-by-isabella-hammad-review-drama-in-the-west-bank . live .
  31. News: Jones . Sadie . 2023-03-29 . Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – Hamlet in Palestine . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-23 . 0261-3077 . 12 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230412080812/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/29/enter-ghost-by-isabella-hammad-review-hamlet-in-palestine . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Isabella Hammad".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.